Professional development pathways for teacher aides

Senior First Aid Certificate at no personal cost if teacher aides are required to provide this service to the school or when they are ready to move into classification TAOO3;

behaviour management training consistent with their roles in a supportive behaviour management environment;

training provided by a health professional to perform specialised health procedures for students;

all teacher aides rostered for supervision of students on the playground and at bus stops are to be trained in supportive behaviour management techniques suited to situations outside the classroom as developed in the school Behaviour Management Plan.

A suite of accredited qualifications in Education Support is available from the national Community Services Training Package CHC08. These qualifications are designed for those who wish to excel as teacher aides or to explore a range of career options.

Teacher aides have four ways to gain a qualification:

RPLOn reaching TAOO2 pay point 04, teacher aides are eligible to be funded by their school to gain a Certificate through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL requires the teacher aide and the school to supply evidence that he/she meets the competency requirements of the course.

School-funded courseMany teacher aides prefer to undertake coursework at an earlier stage in their career. This enables the school to benefit earlier - from their increased capability - and to spread course payments over the period of study.

Self-funded courseIf the school is unable to financially support a teacher aide prior to them reaching TAOO2 pay point 04, they can choose to enrol in a course privately. Personal payment of course fees may be claimed when submitting a tax return.

Using one of the options above, a qualification can be achieved at any time in a teacher aide's TAOO2 career.

My PLR programCompletion of mandatory induction and the Certificate of Digital Practice enables experienced teacher aides to enrol in the MyPLR program at the TAFE East Coast to gain the Certificate IV in Education Support. Recognition for professional learning enables eligible teacher aides to gain the qualification in 36 weeks or less.

Support for students with disability

The Teacher aides supporting students with disability learning program includes eight online courses supporting staff knowledge and capability development. Participants can complete the courses as individual self-paced learning, or in a group with a facilitator. The learning program includes:

The courses are free and can be accessed via the Learning Place. Teacher aides who complete courses from the program may be eligible for recognition of prior learning (RPL) towards Certificate IV - Education Support.

The use of assistive technologies is incorporated in practical workshops for the Certificate of Digital Practice, supporting the learning of teacher aides and aligning with online courses.

Remote area teacher education program (RATEP)

RATEP - a community-based Indigenous teacher education program - provides suitable Teacher Aide and other school employees the opportunity to study part-time for the Certificate IV and Diploma of Education (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) through TAFE Queensland North via an exciting new government-supported distance model of learning from your own home/school anywhere in Queensland.